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The Padres need bats like igloos need ice, and they have little choice anymore but to be flexible about fielding. When your lineup’s standard look is a blanked expression, when you reach the All-Star break a listless last, when you score one run in a weekend against the dreadful Dodgers, you had better find a place for legitimate power.

“I had a great conversation with (Padres General Manager) Jed Hoyer about three or four weeks ago,” Darnell said before Sunday’s All-Star Futures Game. “He told me that he loves everything I’m doing at third base, (that) it’s not a knock on me at third base, it’s just that they want to make me a little more versatile, see if they can get my bat in the lineup.”

Translation: “We need help, so hurry.”

If the Padres have a logjam anywhere in their system, it is at third base. Chase Headley reached the All-Star break hitting .299, with a .390 on-base percentage and still three-plus years short of free agency. Though it’s conceivable Headley could be traded to make room for Darnell, the Padres’ need for productive corner outfielders is already acute and might soon be desperate. With Ryan Ludwick playing no part in the Padres’ 2012 plans, and a strong candidate for a change of scene before the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline, the decision to acquaint Darnell with left field (and, perhaps, first base) is perfectly sensible and probably overdue.

At the risk of overselling another Padres prospect while Anthony Rizzo wallows at .165, James Darnell’s hype might be deserved. Between San Antonio and Tucson, he has 20 home runs in 80 games this year, compiling a composite batting average of .334 and helping to restore hope in the Padres’ formerly feeble pipeline. Also, as an accomplished trumpet player, Darnell might be the one Padres phenom capable of blowing his own horn.

Versatility can only add to his value and accelerate his advancement.

“He’s right where he needs to be as far as his progression goes,” said San Antonio manager Doug Dascenzo, who previously mentored Darnell at Class-A Fort Wayne. “His throws are strong and on the money this year (from third base), and he looks real good in left field. He looks right, looks where he needs to be.”

At 24, Darnell ought to be nearing the end of his minor league seasoning and the start of his big league career. His progress was slowed last season by a cyst near the base of the index finger on his right hand, which hurt his hitting and his throwing. Since surgery, Darnell has shown improved power, a more sophisticated approach at the plate and a more accurate arm.